Happy Easter

I had a friend in college who would say, “Happy Easter egg!” So, happy Easter egg everyone!

If you watch any police drama on television, you know that every crime comes with a motive. The mail man is dead. Why is the mail man dead? A common struggle for readers of the Easter story is to find a motive for why anyone would have wanted to kill Jesus. He was such a nice guy… and he never ran for political office. I’ve heard many people claim that such a barbaric and unjust execution would never happen in one of today’s ‘civilized’ countries. Unfortunately, human nature may change its shape, but its essence remains the same. The gap between a modern reader and the Biblical story often causes problems. Perhaps that gap can be closed. The motives that led the Jewish leaders, Roman authorities, and Judas to want to kill Jesus are still very much present in our world today.

The Jewish leaders felt quite threatened by the life and actions of Jesus. Forgiveness and love were not high on the priority list. Most people can understand the dislike between the Jews and Jesus, but we have a difficult time understanding why the Jews would want to kill Jesus. We then assume that the Jews were simply carried away by a primeval kind of hate. Hate certainly played its role, but the problem ran deeper. I offer an illustration. It’s not a perfect illustration, but I think it will help. Bob is running for the office of president of the United States. He is very popular and is famous for his kindness. About three months before the election, he announces his plan to barter a treaty in which the United States would become a province of China. Amazingly, his popularity increases. How long does Bob live before someone assassinates him? Jewish leadership found Jesus’ teachings as ludicrous as we find the idea of ceding the United States to China. The thought of what Jesus might become terrified the Jewish establishment.

Rome and Pilate agreed to kill Jesus because it was the path of least resistance. Rome needed Judea as a bridge between Europe and its provinces in Northern Africa. The Jews were constantly threatening rebellion, and Rome would try anything to guard its assets in Israel. By working with the Chief Priests and the Herods, Rome was able to maintain a fragile peace. Jesus comes along and garners the deep resentment of the Chief Priests- a resentment that Roman authorities could not understand. Pilate had probably committed past errors and was juggling his own problems with Rome. Even the hint of rebellion would have been bad for Pilate. So, with the Jewish leaders threatening revolt, Jesus dying was just easier. The common people thought they liked Jesus, but mob mentality is fickle and could easily be turned. The Sanhedrin promised to control the crowds if Pilate consented to the execution. If he did not consent, Passover week was a perfect time to start a rebellion. The answer was simple. Let the Jews kill Jesus and peace would limp forward. Incidentally, that peace would only last for about 30 years until open war would arrive in Israel.

And then, we have Judas. Judas became radically disillusioned. It’s difficult to tell exactly what was going through Judas’ mind, but he probably expected Jesus, at some point, to attain official leadership. He began to realize that his preconceived image of the Messiah did not match the image that Jesus was constructing. His betrayal of Jesus may have been a desperate attempt to force Jesus into political action. Or, it may have been a vindictive decision aimed at avenging a perceived wrong. In any case Judas betrayed the person who had apparently been his best friend. All the other Disciples were willing to conform themselves and their Jewishness to Jesus’ example, but not Judas.

I have friends here in Niger who decided that they wanted a dog. They got a dog. After a few months, it became clear that the dog was stupid and a terrible guard. The dog became more of a hassle than a help. My friends took the dog out to the bush and killed it. We don’t have many animal treatment laws in Niger. I wonder if we treat Jesus like my friends treated their dog. As soon as we don’t get from Jesus what we think we need, we kill him.